Building clip



April 17, 1962 1.5. BENSON I 3,029,560

BUILDING CLIP @727251519726072 Z3 %zw w j April 17, 1962 .1. B. BENSON3,029,560

BUILDING CLIP v Filed Dec. 6, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Wm Humlll UnitedStates Patent Odice dgb Patented Apr. 17, 1962 3,029,560 BUILDING CLIPJohn B. Benson, Shorewood Subdivision, Round Lake, Ill. Filed Dec. 6,1954, Ser. No. 473,183 2 Claims. (Cl. 50-215) The present inventionrelates generally to building clips and more particularly to a buildingclip for supporting and positioning building facing material such asclapboards, shingles, and the like.

In forming the siding or roof of a building, the facing material isgenerally arranged in overlapping courses one above the other over thesheathing of the building. Although various forms of building clips havebeen suggested and used for supporting and positioning the facing insuch building structures, none has proven entirely satisfactory.

The main objects of the present invention are to provide an improvedbuilding clip which is free of the disadvantages of the prior artbuilding clips; to provide a building clip which is engageable with thelower edges of an overlying facing, and, when so engaged, has a sectionwhich reinforces the inner surface of the overlying facing adjacent itslower edge so as to prevent the splitting or breaking of the facing; toprovide a building clip for facings which will permit wide exposure ofthe facings without the necessity of face nailing; to provide a buildingclip which will position the facings so that a deep shadow line isvisible below each course of facings; to provide a building clip whichwill permit moisture to escape from behind the facings; to provide abuilding clip which will permit fast and even positioning of thefacings; to provide a building clip which is engageable with the upperends of an underlying course of facings and the lower ends of anoverlying course of facings; and to provide such a building clip whichis simple in construction, economical to fabricate, and eflicient forits intended use.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description and accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of one corner of a buildingin which building clips embodying the present invention have been used,with portions broken away so as to more clearly show certain details ofthe construction;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 2 2 ofFIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a partial, enlarged perspective view of the building clipemployedin the siding shown in FIG- URES l and 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken along the line 4 4 ofFIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a partial sectional view similar to FIG- URE 2 of the wallstructure of a building in which a modified form of building clipembodying the present invention has been used; and

FIGURE 6 is a partial, enlarged perspective view of the building clipemployed in FIGURE 5.

Building clips formed in accordance with the present invention may beused in the construction of buildings for supporting and positioningclapboards or shingles in either the siding or rooting of the buildings.Since the manner in which the building clips are used is the same,regardless of whether the building clips are used in forming the sidingor the rooting, they have been illustrated by way of example in thedrawings only in connection with the siding of a building.

Referring to FIGURES l and 2 of the drawings, the numeral 1 designates abuilding, the interior of which is constructed in a generallyconventional manner. The building 1 includes a foundation wall 2 alongthe upper surface of which are attached sills 3. Headers 4 and joists 5are attached to the sills 3 and support a subfloor 6. Floor plates 7 areattached to the outer margins of the sub-floor 6 for supporting studs 8.The outer portions of the exterior walls of the building 1 includesheathing 9 which is attached to the studs 8 and other internalstructural members, insulating sheathing paper 1t) which is attached -tothe exterior surface of the sheathing 9, exterior lap siding 11, andcorner boards 12.

The lap siding 11 comprises facing strips 13, such as shingles orclapboards, and a relatively narrow starting strip 14 secured to thelower edge of the sheathing by nails 15. The nails 15 are positionedadjacent the upper edge of the starting strips 14 and are concealed byoverlying portions of the siding structure.

Building clips 16 are positioned with their upper ends in engagementwith the starting strips 14 and are secured to the sheathing by nails17. The lower end portions of the building clips 16 extend below theupper edge of the starting strips 14- and engage the lower edges of alowermost course of facing strips 13, thereby locating the lower ends ofthese facing strips in overlapping relation to the upper ends of thestarting strips 14. The facing strips 13 are canted so that their upperends rest against the sheathing paper 10. The upper ends of all of thefacing strips are secured in position by the clips 16. The lower endportions of the building clips 16 engage and support the lower edges ofan overlying course of facing strips 13. This sequence of alternatingbuilding clips and facing strips is repeated for the entire height ofthe siding. In this siding structure, there are no exterior nails whichmar the appearance of the siding. The corner boards 12 abut the sideedges of the facing strips to give a finished appearance to the cornersof the building and to prevent wind, rain, and snow from getting behindthe facing.

The building clips 16 are preferably constructed from elongated stripsof corrosion-resistant sheet metal, such as aluminum or stainless steel,by suitable stamping and bending operations. Suiiiciently rigid buildingclips for the purposes of the present invention may be made fromrelatively thin sheet metal. It should be understood, however, thatsuitable building `clips may also be made out of material such asplastic by suitable molding operations.

The clip 16 may be divided for purposes of convenience and analysis intothree sections: an upper stepped attaching and engaging section, anintermediate transverse bracing or reinforcing section, and a lowerchannel-shaped positioning and supporting section. The upper steppedattaching and engaging section includes an upstanding portion 1S whichis adapted to lie against and be attached to the surface to be covered,a generally transversely disposed shelf portion 19 and a downwardlydisposed portion 2t) adapted to embrace and clamp the upper edge of anunderlying facing strip. The intermediate transverse reinforcing sectionof each clip consists of a generally transversely disposed spacerportion 21 extending outwardly from the lower edge of the downwardlydisposed portion 20 a suitable distance so that its outer edge willengage the inner face of an overlying facing strip 13. The lowerchannel-shaped positioning and supporting Vsection includes an innerinclined leg portion 22 extending downwardly and rearwardly from theouter edge of the spacer portion 21 to the plane of the downwardlyextending portion 2i). A base portion 23 extends outwardly from thelower edge of the leg portion 22 in a plane parallel to the intermediatespacer portion 21 and its outer edge is bent upwardly to form an outerleg portion 24 extending in a direction generally parallel to thedownwardly disposed portion 20 to a height slightly below the plane ofthe intermediate transverse spacer portion 21.

The building clip 16 may be attached to an underlying surface, such asthe sheathing of a building, by driving 3 the nails '17 through theupstanding portion 18. In general, the sheet material from which thebuilding clip is formed is sufficiently soft so that nails may be driventhere through without the necessity of first providing suitable holes inthe upstanding portion 1S. However, holes (not shown) may be providedand in certain cases, such as when the building clip is formed ofrelatively strong sheet material or plastic, such holes are necessary.

To provide means for draining the moisture which may accumulate behindthe facing, the building clip portions 21, 22, and 23 are provided withaligned drain openings 25, 26, and 27, respectively. The drain openingsalso provide means whereby air may enter and circulate behind thefacing. The drain openings 25, 26, and 27 may be formed in the sheetmetal strip from which the building clip is formed before the shaping ofthe strip by a suitable stamping operation. The building clip may bemade of any desired length with drain openings suitably positioned atspaced intervals therealong. If desired, the building clip may be madeof relatively long length and cut into the desired length when put intouse.

The facing strips 13 which are used with the building clips of thepresent invention may be formed of any suitable material. The lower edgeof each facing strip is recessed to provide a groove 28 extending thefull length thereof for receiving the upstanding leg portion 24 of theclip 16. The inner wall of the groove 23 is preferably bevelled as shownat 29 to facilitate entry of the leg portion 24 into the groove. Theouter wall 30 of the groove projects downwardly below the base portion23 of the clip 16 so as to conceal the clip from view.

To apply the building clip 16 in the construction of a siding such as isillustrated in FIGURES l and 2, starting strips 14 are first nailed inposition adjacent the lower end of the sheathing 9. Suitable care shouldbe taken to position the starting strips horizontally along a straightline. When this is done, the various courses of facing strips will beautomatically aligned in a horizontal direction by the use of thebuilding clips 16. The building clips 16 are positioned along the upperends of the starting strips 143 with their engaging portions 19 and 20embracing the upper edges of the starting strips. The building clips 16are then permanently attached to the sheathing by driving the nails 17through the upstanding portions 1S of the clips.

The lower edges of the lowerrnost facing strips 13 are then mounted onthe outer leg portions 24 of the attached building clips 16 in themanner shown in FIGURE 2. As previously mentioned, the intermediateportions 21 of the clips are suitably dimensioned so that when thefacing strips 13 are interengaged with the clips, the outer edges of theintermediate portions 21 will engage the inner faces of the facingstrips adjacent the lower edges thereof. Other building clips 16 arethen supported on the upper ends of the interengaged facing strips 13with their upper engaging portions 19 and 20 embracing the upper edgesof the interengaged strips. These building clips are then attached tothe sheathing by driving nails 17 through their upstanding portions 18.This last operation locks the lower course of shingles in position. Thelower edge of the next course of facing strips is then mounted on thebuilding clips and the process is repeated until the facing iscompleted.

lt is apparent from the foregoing that the building clips 16 space thelower edge of each course of facing strips outwardly from the upper edgeof the next lower course of strips. The building clips 16 areproportioned so that the outward spacing of the lower edges of thefacings will be such as to produce the desired shadow lines below eachcourse of facings.

if desired, the building clip 16 may be formed without the upperupstanding portion 18. In this case, the building clip would be securedto the sheathing by driving the nails 17 through the upper engagingportion 29 and underlying facing and into the sheathing 9. When l thebuilding clip is made in this manner, it is preferred to extend theheight of the engaging portion 20 so that the nails 17 may be driventherethrough at a point spaced from the upper edge of the underlyingfacing, thereby avoiding the risk of splitting the facing.

Another form of building clip 31 embodying the present invention isillustrated in FIGURES 5 and 6. The upper engaging and attaching sectionand intermediate reinforcing section of this building clip are similarto those of the previously described building clip 16. However, thelower channel-shaped section of this building clip differs somewhat fromthat of the previously described building clip 16. The upper attachingand engaging section of the building clip 31 includes the portions 32,33, and 34 which may be identical with the previously described portionsl, 19, and 2G. The intermediate reinforcing section includes atransversely disposed portion 3S, which may be identical with thetransversely disposed portion 21 of the building clip 16. The portion 35may include spaced drain openings 36, as illustrated in FIGURE 6. Thelower channel-shaped section of the building clip 31 is U-shaped intransverse cross-section and includes an inner leg portion 37 extendingdownwardly from the outer edge of the intermediate transverse portion3S, a base portion 38 which extends transversely from the lower edge ofthe leg portion 37, and an outer leg portion 39 which extends upwardlyfrom the outer edge of the base portion 38 in a direction parallel tothe inner leg portion 37 and terminating at a height slightly below theplane of the portion 35. The dimension of the base portion 38 of theclip 31 is such that when the outer leg portion 39 of the building clipextends into the slot 28 of a facing strip, the inner face of the stripwill engage the inner leg portion 37.

The building clip 31 is generally used in the construction of siding orroofing in the same manner as has been previously described inconnection with the building clip 16. In certain cases, the buildingclips 31 may be made without the upstanding portions 32 and, in suchcases, the attaching nails would be driven through the engaging portions34.

The above described building clips provide a satisfactory support forthe overlying facing strips with which they are interengaged because ofthe reinforcement which is given to the inner faces of the facingsadjacent their lower edges by the intermediate reinforcing sections ofthe building clips. Without adequate support at this point, the facingswould be subject to splitting when pressure was applied. A siding orroofing can be quickly and evenly erected with the described buildingclips with a minimum of effort.

It is clear that various modifications may be made in the describedbuilding clips without departing from the scope of the present inventionas defined in the following claims:

I claim:

l. A building clip for use in arranging a plurality of facing strips inoverlapping courses one above the other over a at supporting surface,wherein each of the facing strips has a longitudinally extending slotalong the lower edge thereof, said building clip comprising an upperstepped section having portions extending forwardly and downwardly, anintermediate section extending forwardly from the lower edge of thedownwardly extending portion of said stepped section, and a lowerchannel-shaped section, said channel-shaped section including an innerleg portion extending rearwardly and downwardly from the outer edge ofsaid intermediate section, the lower edge of said inner leg portionbeing approximately in the plane of the downwardly extending portion ofthe upper stepped section, a base portionextending outwardly from thelower edge of said inner leg portion, and an outer leg portion of saidchannel-shaped section extending upwardly from the outer edge of saidbase portion, and said outer leg portion adapted to extend within theslot along the lower edge of said facing strip.

2. A building clip for use in supporting a plurality of facing strips inoverlapping courses over a flat supporting surface, said clip comprisingan upper stepped section including a generally transversely disposedshelf portion, an upstanding portion extending from one edge of saidshelf portion and a depending portion extending from the other edge ofsaid shelf portion, an intermediate section extending forwardly frornthe lower edge of said depending portion of said stepped section, and alower, generally channel-shaped section, said channel-shaped sectionincluding an inner leg portion extending downwardly and rearwardly fromthe forward edge of said intermediate section with the lower edge ofsaid inner leg portion be- 15 2,754,551

6 ing generally in the plane of said depending portion of said upperstepped section, a base portion extending forwardly from the lower edgeof said inner leg portion, and an outer leg portion of saidchannel-shaped section extending upwardly from the forward edge of said-base portion. Y

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 102,467,637 Strohrn Apr. 19, 1949 2,648,103 Wahlfeld Aug. 11, 19532,648,104 Scott et al Aug. 1l, 1953 2,659,323 Alvarez Nov. 17, 19532,740,166 Siering Apr. 3, 1956 Legnaioli July 17, 1956

